Today’s Reading:
Read Zechariah 8; Zechariah 9:9-17; Zechariah 11:15-16; Zechariah 13:1-2; Zechariah 14:3-11
When you read a book, are you ever tempted to jump to the end and read the last page so you know how it’s going to end? Some people love to do that. Others believe it might ruin the story if you do that. Zechariah’s message to the people was exciting news for them about how their story was going to end. His message gave them hope. It did not ruin the story! It gave them something to look forward to.
The words we read from Zechariah today gave us an insight to the promises God was making to restore Israel. It was all good news for the Israelites. Not only would God’s people be returning to Jerusalem, but God’s presence also would be returning to Jerusalem. The people had reason to hope! The promises that God had made to their ancestors were going to come true.
Zechariah gave the Israelites some ideas of how those promises were going to come true. A lot of what Zechariah wrote about gave images of how ultimately their redeemer or Messiah would come. Zechariah 9:9 told them that their King would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Read Mark 11 today. How did Jesus ride into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week? Just as Zechariah prophesied, Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey.
The message from Zechariah gave the Israelites details about Jesus’ first coming. However, it also gives us details about Jesus’ second coming. As Christ followers, we believe that Jesus will one day return. Zechariah 11-14 gives us some images of what that return will look like- sort of a picture of what the last page in the book would say. Zechariah’s message offered hope to the Israelites, and it offers hope to us as well.
Application/Prayer:
Make a list of promises God has made for His people. Thank God for being a promise keeper. Ask Him to help you trust that if He promised to do something, He always keeps His promises.
September Memory Verse:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him,and he will make your paths straight.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
September memory verse coloring sheet